Echo Papa 607

Notes

The Echo Papa 607 is a major planetary weapons system developed by the inhabitants of Minos in the early 2360s. The system is highly flexible, allowing it to perform a wide variety of different functions in almost any threat level. For instance, one module is designed for an information gathering role; a drone projects a holographic image of a person the subject is likely to trust in order to question them for useful information. If discovered, the drone will encase the subject in a forcefield which places them into stasis pending recovery for further interrogation.

In the offensive role, the EP-607 will customise attack drones for the level of threat, beginning with a simple floating drone carrying a powerful beam weapon. If this fails a more agile device is produced; then a device which carries a low level protective forcefield, then one with a high capacity shield, and so on. This allows the EP-607 to produce weapons tailored exactly to the threat level, a highly efficient approach.

Larger versions of the same drone can engage targets in orbit, utilising far more powerful weapons, shields and even cloaking technology.

This adaptability is a major feature of the EP-607, and one which makes it extremely difficult to defeat - something the Minosians found to their cost when they lost control of an EP-607 system in 2364. The entire planetary population was unable to overcome even this single unit, and it destroyed all intelligent life on Minos. The same unit subsequently destroyed the Federation Starship Drake with all hands, and very nearly destroyed the Galaxy class USS Enterprise-D. It was only thanks to some unorthodox tactics by Captain Picard and Lieutenant LaForge that the unit was eventually shut down.1